Chapter 2

I went to the city alone.

My mother-in-law’s precious darling of a son was gone.

She was so grief-stricken that she kept waking up only to faint again, leaving everything to me.

By the time I reached the hospital, my husband’s body was almost stiff.

It was a gruesome sight.

One glance, and I raised a hand to cover my mouth.

Just then, a man’s grave, cool voice came from behind me.

Apologetic.

“I’m very sorry.”

“I’m Zhong Yiheng of the Zhong Group. The billboard belonged to us. Some screws came loose. It was an accident, but we will take full responsibility.”

I turned.

And saw a stern, finely sculpted face.

Strong brows, bright eyes, a high nose, a defined jaw.

Objectively handsome.

Compared with my bloodied husband beside him, he barely looked like the same species.

He paused when he saw me.

“Are you the deceased’s… sister? Or daughter?”

At last I managed to force down the corners of my mouth.

I lowered my hand and wiped my eyes. “I’m his wife.”

In a café near the hospital,

Zhong Yiheng and I sat across from each other.

He pushed a cup of coffee toward me. “I wasn’t sure what you liked. My sister likes cappuccinos, so I ordered her favorite.”

I took a sip.

A little bitter, but mostly sweet, with the fragrance of milk.

It was the first coffee I’d ever had.

I’d just looked at the menu. A cup cost dozens of yuan.

I cradled it carefully, reluctant to finish it.

Across from me, Zhong Yiheng said, “We’ve checked Mr. Wang’s records. His marital status is listed as unmarried.”

“Oh… I’m not old enough to register the marriage yet.”

I explained,

“Where we live, you have the wedding feast first if you’re underage, then register once you’re pregnant.”

“We had the feast yesterday. Today he said he was going to the city for work, and left.”

“I never thought…”

I left the rest unsaid.

Zhong Yiheng frowned deeply.

After a moment’s hesitation, he handed me a bloodstained phone.

“This was your husband’s,” he said quietly. “You might want to look.”

I unlocked it.

A string of payments to massage parlors filled the screen.

The amounts were quite distinctive.

There were also payments for that sort of pill.

Zhong Yiheng seemed to find it difficult to say.

“I don’t know whether you knew about this… Of course, I’m not showing you to avoid paying compensation. I just hope you won’t grieve too much.”

“You’re about my sister’s age. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

I understood.

He’d got the wrong idea.

He thought my husband and I had been deeply in love.

The injuries my husband had given me last night still hurt. I didn’t correct him. I just held my cup and took another sip.

I spent a moment arranging the words in my head.

Then I spoke softly.

“My mother-in-law is elderly. His family spent everything on the bride price.”

“My husband was our only breadwinner.”

“Now he’s gone, we’re going to struggle.”

When I’d worked at the factory, the husband of the woman next door had made a mistake operating a machine. It had caught his arm and torn it off.

They’d paid him over sixty thousand yuan.

She’d gone in and cried, and the factory had given them another twenty thousand.

That was just an arm.

My husband had lost his head.

Surely that was worth a bit more.

Under my expectant gaze,

Zhong Yiheng called in a lawyer.

He said, “Miss Xu Yue, if you have no objections, we’re prepared to pay you three million yuan in compensation.”